Distributor



March 8, 1955 STUCHEU 2,703,648

DISTRIBUTOR Filed May 14, 1955 2 Sheets-Sheet l INVEIYTOR: ALovs sTUcHEu,

F 5 BY A. STUCHELI March 8, 1955 DISTRIBUTOR 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed May 14, 1955 INVEIMTOR: ALO\S STUCHELI,

United States Patent DISTRIBUTOR Alois Stiicheli, Wil, Switzerland, assignor to Gebruder Buhler, Uzwil, Switzerland, :1 Swiss company Application May 14, 1953, Serial No. 355,035 Claims priority, application Switzerland May 15, 1952 6 Claims. (Cl. 209-254) The invention relates to distributors, and relates more particularly to distributors for use in connection with the feeder of sifters for solid particle free-flowing material, for instance, flour mill sifters.

In flour mill sifters it is desirable to separate the stream of goods into a plurality of quantitively substantially equal partial streams, for subsequent sieving of each partial strearn, for instance, on a segment of a radially regularly partitioned sieve.

Distributors now in use are deficient therein that the distribution is not sufficiently even, so that some of the partial streams sometimes have up to twice the quantity of others, thereby overloading some of the sieve segment where one partitioned sieve is used, or the sieves where a plurality of separate sieves are used, while underfeeding others. The resulting efficiency is low.

The instant invention has among its objects to provide a distributor that will divide the incoming stream into a plurality of quantitively substantially equal partial streams, the apportioning being made with great accuracy.

The foregoing and other objects of the invention will be best understood from the following description of exemplifications thereof, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, wherein:

Figure 1 is a plan view of a distributor in accordance with the invention;

'Figure 2 is a sectional view taken on line 2-2 of Figure 1;

Figure 3 is a sectional view taken on line 3-3 of Figure 2; and

Figure 4 is a perspective view of the turnable outer part.

In carrying the invention into effect in one of the embodirnents which has been selected for illustration in the accompanying drawings and for description in this specification, and referring now particularly to Figures 1-4, there is provided a distributor generally indicated at 11 which is disposed in a duct or feeder pipe 13 for a sifter such as for instance a flour mill sifter (not shown). There is provided a sieve 21, that may be divided, by means of four partitions 12 into four sieve segments. The distributor 11 comprises a stationary cylindrical inner receptacil6e part 14 and a turnable adjustable cylindrical outer part The stationary part 14 includes a base 17 that is supported on a disc 18 which, in turn, is secured on a support, for instance, on a post 19, that is positioned in the center of the sieve 21. The stationary part 14 furthermore includes an annular side wall 22 that is integral with the base 17. The side wall 22 has a series of longitudinal radial orifices or slots or openings 23, and each wall portion 24 is disposed between each two openings 23 extending for a predetermined fraction of the whole periphery. By this means, the periphery is divided into even divisions, for instance, eight divisions as shown in the views; each of the four openings 23 in the embodiment shown, extends throughout one-eighth of the periphery, or for 45, as best shown in Figure 3, and is disposed centrally above a segment of the sieve 21; each opening 23 has a height a.

The base 17 of the stationary part 14 has a plurality, for instance, four circular passages 26, and these may be so arranged that each passage 26 has its center point \A on the radius R, bisecting the longitudinal opening 23. Each passage 26 is also positioned centrally above a segment of the sieve 21.

The rotatable part 16 comprises a base 27 that has a 2,703,648 Patented Mar. 8, 1955 ice central aperture 28 which surrounds the disc 18; the disc 18, the aperture 28, and the stationary part 14 and rotatable part 16 are all concentric. A washer 29 is provided below the disc 18 and is wider than the disc 18, overlapping a portion of the base 27, to provide a support for that base 27.

The rotatable part 16 furthermore includes a side wall 31 that surrounds the upper portion of the side wall 22 of the stationary part 14; the side wall 31 is spaced for a minimum distance c above the base 27, and is connected thereto by means of a plurality of connecting elements, such as four braces 32. The side wall 31, as best shown in Figure 4, has a plurality of orifices, such as upwardly extending recesses or cutouts 33, and each recess 33 corresponds in peripheral extension to an elongated opening 23. Thereby, when the recesses 33 are aligned with the openings 23, they will provide lateral radial passages through which the goods may run out onto the segments of the sieve 21.

The upper edges of the recesses 33 coincide with the upper edges of the openings 23, but the height b of the recesses 33 is slightly larger than the height a of the openings 23. The lower edges 34 of the parts 36 of the side wall that extend between the recesses 33 are spaced from the bottom 27 for the distance c between an open space 30 which serves to prevent any of the goods being caught in the small gap 37 between the side walls 22 and 31 of the stationary part 14 and the rotatable part 16, respectively.

The base 27 is also provided with passages, such as circular passages 38, and each passage 38 of the outer part 16 corresponds to a passage 26 of the inner part 14.

There are provided four passages 26, four passages 38,

four slots 23 and four recesses 33, so that when the recesses 33 are aligned with the openings 23 by the turning of the outer part 16 the passages 38 will also be in register with the passages 26.

A bracket 39 is connected to the base 27 for turning of the outer part 16 in opposite directions throughout a certain predetermined angle to change the positioning of the rotatable part 16 relative to the stationary part 14. After a desired offset angle between the two parts 14 and 16 has been reached by the rotation of the rotatable part 16, the bracket 39 may be fixed in that position, for instance, by means of a screw 41 that protrudes through a slot 42 of the bracket 39 and which may be screwed into a fixed part (not shown in detail) or the exterior of the distributor 11.

An annular downwardly tapering feed guide or funnel 43 for the material may be secured to the interior of the side wall 22 of the stationary part 14; this guide serves not only to direct the goods towards the interior of that part, but also to restrain overflow of the material from the interior of the receptacle part 14 over the open top thereof.

The operation of the above described invention is as follows.

The material is funneled by the guide 43 into the interior of the stationary inner receptacle part 14, to load the same. At that time an adjustment will be made by turning the rotatable part 16 about the disc 18 until the openings defined by the overlapping parts of the passages 26 and 38 are insufficient to pass downwards in direction B all the material that is accumulating on the interior of the part 14. The material therefore will begin to fill the interior of the part 14 until its level has reached a height beyond the height of the distance 0, at which point the material will also be discharged in direction of the arrow C through the overlapping portions of the orifices, namely the slots 23 and the recesses 33.

Whe the rotatable part 16 has been moved to a position in which substantially a balance is reached whereby all the incoming material leaves the distributor 11 so that there is equilibrium between incoming and outgoing quantities of the material, the rotatable part 16 may be fixed in the adjusted position, by fastening the screw 41.

In this position, the material will leave through the passages 26 and 38 in direction B and through the openings 23 and recesses 33 in direction C. Changes in the load will only affect to a small degree, if at all, the expulsion and provide there-.

of material through the passages 26 and 38, but increase of the load will cause an increase of discharge through the openings 23 and recesses 33.

The distribution is equal, and all the difiiculties that have been experienced with distributors of the prior art are largely eliminated by this arrangement.

For particularly heavy goods there may be provided a perforated brake disc 44, shown in Figure 2, which is spaced above the base 17.

It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that the novel principles of the invention disclosed herein in connection with specific exemplifications thereof will suggest various other modifications and applications of the same. It is accordingly desired that in construing the breadth of the appended claims they shall not be limited to the specific exemplifications of the invention described herein.

Having thus described the invention, what I claim as new and desire to be secured by Letters Patent, is as follows:

1. In a distributor, for use in delivering free-flowing solid particle material to a sieve partitioned into a series of segments, in combination, an inner receptacle part arranged to receive said material on the interior and an outer part surrounding said inner part and supported coaxially relative thereto and being turnable for adjustable positioning relative thereto, said inner part including a base having a series of passages, each passage being in registry with a segment of said sieve for the discharge of material onto said segment, said inner part including an annular side wall connected to said base and having a series of elongated slots each above a segment for the discharge of material onto said segment, said outer part including a base having a series of passages each corresponding to a passage of said inner part, said outer part including an annular side wall having cutouts open on the bottom, each corresponding to a slot of said side wall of said inner part, said passages, slots and cutouts being so arranged that the passages of said two parts and simultaneously the cutouts of said outer part and the slots of said inner part may adjustably be brought into full registry for maximum discharge and, respectively, into partial registry of varying degree of overlapping for reduced discharge, of material from said inner part in substantially equally apportioned quantities to the segments of said sleve.

2. In a distributor as claimed in claim 1, said distributor parts being so arranged that said outer part being adjustable relative to said inner part, while said distributor is operating under load.

3. In a distributor adapted to receive and to discharge free flowing solid particle material, in combination, an inner receptacle part arranged to receive said material on the interior and an outer encircling part supported coaxially relative thereto, each of said parts including a base having a plurality of passages for discharge of said material, and each part including an annular side wall connected to said base and having a plurality of elongated lateral orifices spaced from each other along the periphery of said side wall for the discharge of said material, at least one of said parts being turnable for adjustable positioning relative to the other, each orifice and passage of one part corresponding to an orifice and passage of the other part, whereby upon turning of said turnable part each orifice and passage thereof may be aligned with the corresponding orifice and passage of the other part substantially in full registry for maximum discharge of material and, respectively, in partial registry of varying extent of overlapping for reduced discharge of material from the inner part to the exterior, an annular downwardly tapered guide member secured near the top in said inner part and operable for tunneling material into said inner part and to restrain overflow over the top.

4. In a distributor adapted to receive and to discharge an free flowing solid particle material, in combination,

inner receptacle part arranged to receive said material on the interior and an outer encircling part supported coaxially relative thereto, each of said parts including a base having a plurality of passages for discharge of said material, and each part including an annular side wall connected to said base and having a plurality of elongated lateral orifices spaced from each other along the periphery of said side wall for the discharge of said material, at least one of said parts being turnable for adjustable positioning relative to the other, each orifice and passage of one part corresponding to an orifice and passage of the other part, whereby upon turning of said turnable part each orifice and passage thereof may be aligned with the corresponding orifice and passage of the other part substantially in full registry for maximum discharge of material and, respectively, in partial registry of varying extent of overlapping for reduced discharge of material from the inner part to the exterior, a perforated brake disc fixedly supported spaced above the base of said inner part and parallel thereto.

5. In a distributor adapted to receive and to discharge free flowing solid particle material, in combination, an inner receptacle part arranged to receive said material on the interior and an outer encircling part supported coaxially relative thereto, each of said parts including a base having a plurality of passages for discharge of said material, and each part including an annular side wall connected to said base and having a plurality of elongated lateral orifices spaced from each other along the periphery of said side Wall for the discharge of said material, at least one of said parts being turnable for adjustable positioning relative to the other, each orifice and passage of one part corresponding to an orifice and passage of the other part, whereby upon turning of said turnable part each orifice and passage thereof may be aligned with the corresponding orifice and passage of the other part substantially in full registry for maximum discharge of material and, respectively, in partial registry of varying extent of overlapping for reduced discharge of material from the inner part to the exterior, said orifices of said inner part being rectangular slots and said orifices of said outer part being rectangular recesses open at the bottom.

6. In a distributor adapted to receive and to discharge from flowing solid particle material, in combination, an inner receptacle part arranged to receive said material on the interior and an outer encircling part supported coaxially relative thereto, each of said parts including a base having a plurality of passages for discharge of said material, and each part including an annular side wall connected to said base and having a plurality of elongated lateral orifices spaced from each other along the periphery of said side wall for the discharge of said material, at least one of said parts being turnable for adjustable positioning relative to the other, each orifice and passage of one part corresponding to an orifice and passage of the other part, whereby upon turning of said turnable part each orifice and passage thereof may be aligned with the corresponding orifice and passage of the other part substantially in full registry for maximum discharge of material and, respectively, in partial registry of varying extent of overlapping for reduced dis- Hachmann Aug. 12, 1919 Mount Aug. 29, 1950 

